Solar Feed In Tariff Website

Sharp Corp, a leading Japanese manufacturer of solar cells has given a stark indication of European demand for solar production by investing £29.5 million in its British plant. Growing demand across Europe and in particular in the UK, following the introduction of tariff subsidies has seen the need for Sharp Corp to increase the output of solar cell modules in its Swindon based plant.

The increased investment gives encouraging signs not only for UK manufacturing in the face of the financial crisis but also renewable energy as a means of rejuvenating the struggling economy and generating jobs.

The feed-in tariff system, which came into effect in April this year was devised as a way of attracting investment in renewable energy and has proved successful in countries such as Germany and Spain where tariff payments have offset the initial costs of installing solar plant and offered attractive yields to investors. Sharp Corp have certainly seen an added interest in solar power, reflected by the investment in the manufacturing of essential solar components.

“This time last year 99 per cent of the modules that we manufactured at Wrexham were exported to Europe and that has already dropped to 90 per cent. The feed-in tariff has given confidence to manufacturers like ourselves to invest,” spoke Andrew Lee, General Manager of Sharp Solar.

Indeed, the investment in the UK plant will see four additional production lines taking the capacity of the factory up to 500 mW by 2011. In terms of job creation, the plant which currently employs 750 people is unsure about how many new jobs will be created but green shoots nevertheless for supporters of a low carbon economy.

Tags: Andrew Lee, environmental investments, PV technology, Sharp Corp, Sharp Solar, solar cells, solar industry, solar investments

The recent introduction of a solar feed-in tariff by the Turkish government designed to kick start the photovoltaic (PV) sector has been heralded by Sharp Solar as the beginning of what will be solar boom in Turkey. Tariffs work by offering fixed, premium rates for small scale energy producers feeding electricity into the national grid.

The rates are designed to off set the obvious costs in producing electricity by renewable means and have proved to be a useful mechanism in attracting investment where they have been introduced elsewhere. Sharp Solar therefore believe that the tariff legislation along with the abundance of sunshine enjoyed by Turkey will contribute to the growth of their PV sector over the next ten years.

Peter Thiele, Executive Vice President of Sharp Energy Solutions stated this week that,

“There can be few countries in Europe that have as much growth potential as Turkey when it comes to the solar market”.

The tariff will operate in Turkey over a twenty year period with a rate of €0.28 per unit of energy for the first ten years and a rate of €0.22 for the following ten years being offered to solar micro-generators across Turkey. With an average of seven hours of sunlight per day, Turkey will prove to be an attractive prospect for investors looking to diversify their portfolios in green investments and similarly will help create PV jobs in the region.

With highly regarded investment gurus such as Jim Mellon adding their weight to the concept of solar investment, Turkey will be looking to benefit from what he described as an industry which will be ‘bigger than the internet’. Sharp Solar certainly agree with the idea that the Turkish feed-in tariff will lead to a solar industry boom in Turkey,

“Turkey has long been one of Sharp’s European focus markets for photovoltaics. Together with our partner FORM Solar we have been active in this market for a number of years and are keeping a close watch on developments. The 28 euro cent feed-in tariff for solar energy agreed for the first ten years, with 22 euro cent during the next ten years will, we believe, ensures a start of a healthy development of the market without the risk of overheating as was witnessed in Spain for example, but could be improved in order to generate more interest of investors,” quoted Barbara Rudek, Sharp Energy Solution Europe.

Tags: Barbara Rudek, European Photovoltaic Association, feed in tariff, FIT, Jim Mellon, Kevin Langley, Peter Thiele, Sharp Energy Solutions, Sharp Solar, solar equipment, solar panels, solar plant, solar products, Spain, Turkey, Turkish feed-in tariff